M&A advisory, compared
Twelve banks and two independents on advisory: what they publish (nothing), the fee on each recent mandate as the merger proxy states it, where the league tables put them, and their conduct record.
Most recent find$37.5m93Citigroup, Utz Brands mergeradviser fee, merger proxy · filed 2026-10-02, read 1 Nov 2026
Dearest$117m113Goldman Sachs, Karuna Therapeuticsadviser fee, merger proxy · filed 2024-02-05, read 1 Nov 2026
| Bank | Publishes fees or terms | Recent adviser fees, merger proxies | LSEG global M&A rank, 2025 | LSEG global IB fees rank, 2025 | Fines 2021 to 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goldman Sachs | No | Avidity Biosciences $108m81 Kenvue $63m82 Electronic Arts $110m83 | 134 | 235 | None in the period |
| JPMorgan Chase | No | Dominion Energy $78m84 Select Medical $10m85 Altair Engineering $63.8m86 | 239 | 140 | None in the period |
| Morgan Stanley | No | Confluent $84m87 Norfolk Southern $52.5m88 Couchbase $30m89 | 344 | 345 | None in the period |
| Bank of America | No | Dun & Bradstreet $54m90 Perficient $25m91 Newmont $27.5m92 | 449 | 450 | None in the period |
| Citigroup | No | Utz Brands merger $37.5m93 Huntsman $21m94 Jamf Holding $32m95 | 554 | 555 | £74.2m67 |
| Barclays | No | Equitrans Midstream $30m96 United States Steel $68m97 HMS $32.9m98 | 759 | 660 | £83.2m1011 |
| HSBC | No | None found in filings | 1963 | 1564 | £127.6m1415 |
| UBS | No | Veeco Instruments $28.5m99 Arcadium Lithium $34m100 Quanex $8m101 | 1068 | 1369 | None in the period |
| Deutsche Bank | No | Luxfer $8m102 Univar Solutions $29m103 Signify Health $24m104 | 1570 | 1171 | None in the period |
| BNP Paribas | No | U.S. Concrete $8.4m105 | 2075 | 976 | None in the period |
| Rothschild & Co | No | KORE $5m106 American Woodmark $15m107 Consolidated Communications $14.3m108 | 1377 | 1178 | None in the period |
| Lazard | No | Dominion Energy $70m109 Huntsman $24m110 Endo $35m111 | 1279 | 2480 | None in the period |
No bank in this table publishes a fee, a minimum deal size or retainer terms for this desk. Fees are set deal by deal and disclosed deal by deal, so they are shown deal by deal: the three most recent per bank here, every one on the deals page, never rolled into a rate. An IPO discount is shared among the named underwriters; a proxy fee is the adviser's own. If you are a bank and would like your fee in this table, there is a form. It is called a prospectus.
The Panel Six firms I deal with. Terms as discussed with me.
| Firm | Indicative fee | Retainer | Minimum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harrowgate Lennox A lobby people photograph, and a pitch team of eleven who rarely see it. | IPO 3.84% to 4.69%P1 | £53,250 a month, creditedP1 | £1.35bn deal sizeP1 |
| Thornleigh Aubert A long tradition of never quite saying no. | Discretionary 0.64% to 0.37% by tierP2 | None stated. The relationship is the retainer.P2 | CHF 9mP2 |
| Lockridge Hartwell American to the core and billing in quarter hours, including the quarter hour spent reading this. | IPO 6.77% to 7.22%P3 | $92,750 a month, not creditedP3 | $1.85bn deal sizeP3 |
| Dunmore & Rook Proudly independent, right up to the fee letter. | M&A 1.81% success feeP4 | £34,250 a month, credited against the success feeP4 | £150m deal sizeP4 |
| Marchbank Private A royal warrant, a brass plate and a door with the minimum on it. | Discretionary 0.56% to 0.26% by tierP5 | Account fee £110 a monthP5 | £9mP5 |
| Linnet The challenger, with a chatbot called Ned who is always available and occasionally right. | 0.29% platform fee, funds extraP6 | None. Ned does not charge for his time.P6 | £400,000P6 |